Healthcare Risk Management
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Relying Exclusively on Family for Medical History Breaches Standard of Care, Yields $4.58M Verdict
On June 8, 2012, a 33-year-old woman drove to the hospital and was complaining of severe head pain and other symptoms. She told doctors that she had a history of brain swelling that was caused by a pre-existing condition known as lupus and was being monitored by a neurologist. The hospital diagnosed the woman with a migraine, administered a “migraine cocktail,” and then discharged her without providing a neurological consult, performing diagnostic imaging of her brain, or reviewing her past medical history. The next day, the woman died.
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Changes to Conditions of Participation Proposed
CMS has proposed changes to the Conditions of Participation that the agency says will improve patient safety and quality.
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$53 Million Award for Birth Brain Injury
In what is believed to be the biggest birth injury verdict ever in Chicago’s Cook County, a jury has ordered the University of Chicago Medical Center to pay $53 million in a case involving a 12-year-old boy who was born with a serious brain injury.
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CNO Says Hospital Fired Her for Criticism of Electronic Medical Record
A former nursing executive at Sonoma West Medical Center (SWMC) in Sebastopol, CA, says she was fired for raising concerns that the facility’s electronic medical record was a threat to patient safety. The electronic medical record was developed by one of the hospital’s board members.
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Patient Shot by Security Officer Sues Hospital
A patient who was shot by an off-duty police officer working security at St. Joseph Medical Center in Houston, TX, is suing the hospital, its parent company, the city of Houston, and four police officers.
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National Fraud Takedown Nets 301 People And $900 Million in False Billing
The recent arrest of 301 people for healthcare fraud brings the campaign against fraudulent billing to another level and illustrates that licensed professionals are as vulnerable as everyone else.
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Feds Offer Best Practices Response to Ransomware
After a spate of attacks in which hospital computer systems were seized and held for ransom, the departments of Homeland Security, Justice, and Health and Human Services have issued technical guidance summarizing existing “best practices” to prevent and respond to ransomware incidents.
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CANDOR Toolkit Helps After Adverse Events
After an adverse event, prompt and honest communication with the patient and family members has become the best practice in healthcare over the past decade, and the federal government is supporting that effort with a new toolkit from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
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Ask the Hard Questions After an Adverse Event
Even when the cause of the adverse event is identified, investigators should drill down further to identify other factors that may have played a role, says Edwin G. Foulke Jr., JD, partner with the law firm of Fisher Phillips in Atlanta and former head of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
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Tips on Interviewing Witnesses, Debriefing
In addition, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) offers advice on how to debrief clinicians involved with adverse events. AHRQ notes that all forms of debriefing have a shared structure that involves setting the stage followed by three phases, including description or reactions, analysis, and application. The following is some of the advice from AHRQ: